Listen Up: Depeche Mode, OneRepublic, Thompson Square
- %27Delta Machine%27 is Depeche Mode%27s 13th album
- %27Native%27 finds OneRepublic %22offering sturdy%2C atmospheric pop%22
- Thompson Square%27s %27Just Feels Good%27 is %22like a rom-com with dual narrators%22
Depeche Mode, Delta Machine
Synth-pop
* * * out of four
The British electronic group that continues to dominate the movement it pioneered 30 years ago delivers a hefty, exhilarating combo of pop precision and industrial clank on its 13th album. Delta lacks melodic definition but dwells in a beautiful gloom. -- Edna Gundersen
Download:Welcome to My World, My Little Universe
OneRepublic, Native
Pop
* * *
On his band's latest album, song-craftsman-to-the-stars Ryan Tedder neither surprises nor disappoints, offering sturdy, atmospheric pop. Hearing Tedder channel Freddie Mercury on the driving Something I Need will prove fun for fans of a certain age. -- Elysa Gardner
Download:Burning Bridges, Something I Need
Thompson Square, Just Feels Good
Country
* * *
Husband-and-wife duo's songs play like a rom-com with dual narrators. They've got all the elements — meet-cutes, separation, obstacles and a happy ending — plus a soundtrack that mixes '70s-rock guitar with mandolin and pedal steel. -- Brian Mansfield
Download:If I Can't have You, Run, Here We Go Again